Six Months
by RosettaWuzHere
Summary: Ukitake reveals the true extent of his illness to Nanao Ise. UkitakexNanao.
1. Chapter 1

**Six months, four days, 11 hours, 22 minutes.**

Nanao walked towards the cherry tree, taking in her surroundings. Suddenly, an eruption of coughing interrupting her thoughts, signaling the presence of Ukitake. He was hunched over, using the trunk as a support. His hair fell in front of his face in curtains. As she approached, he straightened up. He tried to smile but it was strained. Nanao nodded curtly, uttering a quick greeting.

Ukitake glanced at the large, empty wooden bowl Nanao was carrying. She felt the need to explain what she was doing.

"I'm collecting blossoms for Captain Kyoraku's entrance."

Ukitake nodded knowingly. Nanao kept her face blank. She didn't want to make Ukitake uncomfortable. Ukitake frowned slightly.

"Why the stony face Nanao-chan?"

Nanao flushed. Ukitake reached out and pulled a blossom from the nearest branch. He gently tucked the flower behind Nanao's ear. His hand lingered there for a moment, brushing her cheek. He smiled warmly at her. Then he began to cough again. It didn't last for very long, but when he pulled his hand away from his mouth it was covered in blood. Nanao's smile faded. She knew she probably shouldn't ask about it, but her curiosity got the better of her.

"Does it hurt?" She regretted asking as soon as it was out of her mouth. Ukitake became suddenly interested in a flower blossom near his head, fingering it delicately.

"Oh yes." He replied in a light tone, as if discussing the weather or the time of day.

"How do you live with it?" She waited for an answer, wondering if she had gone to far. Ukitake turned to face her. His smile was gone. His gaze bore into Nanao and she shifted uncomfortably.

"I think," said Ukitake in a low tone of voice. "You already know the answer to that question, Nanao-chan." She knew that he was inviting her to say what she knew. She took a breath and began to speak.

"You don't live with it. You die from it. You are dying, aren't you?" It was hanging out in the open. Now she just hoped she was right. Ukitake nodded slowly, his face looked weary all of a sudden. She put a hand on his arm. "How much time do you have?" Ukitake turned away, his back facing Nanao.

"Six months." She inhaled sharply. She hadn't thought he was so close. Ukitake turned to face her. He closed his eyes and a single tear ran down his face. "Please." He said softly. "Leave me."

Nanao inclined her head. She had never seen him like this. She bowed and mumbled a quick apology, trying to figure out how to tell Captain Kyoraku that she had failed to gather any blossoms. Ukitake looked after her, his white hair blowing in the breeze.


	2. Chapter 2

Five months, 10 days, 10 hours, 12 minutes.

Nanao had been busy in the last month. Her conversation with Ukitake was always on her mind. She tried to forget about it, pretend it didn't matter and that everyone was expecting it sooner or later. She was walking around the perimeter of Seireitei, running her hands along the age old wall. She looked away from the wall for a moment and realized that Ukitake was only a meter away from her, staring into the distance. She began to turn around. Before she could go any further, Ukitake's voice rang out across the wall.

"Nanao! How good to see you!" Nanao froze, then turned around to face him.

"It while been awhile Captain Jyuushirou." Ukitake smiled.

"I think you have been avoiding me." Ukitake said in his usual calming tone. Nanao looked downwards, hoping to escape his piercing gaze and deep brown eyes. She was lost for words and she was sure she looked stupid. She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up, hoping he had looked away by now. He was looking at her expectantly. When she didn't say anything, he withdrew slightly and said,

"Why don't we go for a walk?" Nanao seemed to pull herself together at this suggestion and replied,

"I think that is a good idea." They walked along the path and talked about various things, avoiding the topic that was hanging above their heads like a rain cloud. Death. Eventually Ukitake turned to face Nanao. He was staring at her again.

"Nanao." He said. He said it like it was a special word. It made her feel important. she almost shivered. He began to speak.

"I think we should talk. About.." he made a movement with his hands suggesting he didn't know how to say it.

"You. Dying." She replied automatically, bluntly. She didn't realize what a cold remark it was until she already said it. She quickly tried to apologize but he waived it away.

"No. You're right." She quickly tried to comb over the subject but Ukitake would not stray from the topic that she had been avoiding. "I would like for you to keep this matter to yourself." She nodded curtly. "You must not tell Shunsui." She nodded again and frowned.

"Why tell me then?" Ukitake looked down at her, trying to decide what to say. His gaze seemed to be analyzing her in such away that she felt tingly and nervous.

"Because," Ukitake replied. "I can trust you to still treat me fair even when you you know that..." He didn't finish his sentence. After so much time, he couldn't imagine it ending. He looked down. Nanao was staring at him. "I'm sorry." he said. Nanao quickly tried to shift the fault to herself, even for such a small thing. This seemed to amuse him.

"No, It's my fault..." she was saying. Ukitake was shaking his head and motioning for her to stop. His eye drifted to the clip that she was wearing in her hair. He moved to examine it more closely, then stopped.

"May I?" He asked politely. She nodded and he gently pulled the clip out of her tightly woven up-do. Her hair fell to her shoulders and suddenly she felt self conscious. Her hair wasn't as well taken care of as Ukitake's seemed to be. He was looking closely at the pink flower clip in his hand, the actual design was always covered by her hair. He appeared to come to a conclusion. He straightened himself up from the hunched over position he had assumed earlier to inspect the clip.

"Captian Kyoraku?" he said, his pitch going slightly higher than normal suggesting that he wasn't sure.

"Yes." she said, clearly embarrassed. She could feel her cheeks burning and Ukitake's affectionate smile confirmed it. She started to speak but began to stutter. "I-I.." She didn't know what was wrong with her today. She said so. Ukitake chuckled lightly. He opened his hand and instead of the cheaper, pink plastic clip that Shunsui had gotten her in the real world, there was a sparkling pearl comb engraved with small butterflies. She looked at it and thought, _that's pretty._ Then she realized that he was holding it out to her. She looked at him in surprise.

"Why-why-are you giving this..to me?" She was stuttering again. This time she felt it was justified. He didn't offer an explanation. She took it, trying to figure out how to make this work with her current hairstyle. He smiled saying,

"Let me help you." He leaned closer to her, putting the comb in a more elegant fashion than she was used to. She could feel his breath on her neck as he reached around to tighten the comb. Before pulling away, he looked at her for a good five seconds. His eyes were asking her, telling her that he wouldn't pull away if she didn't want him to. She looked back at him. It was torture knowing that those familiar eyes would only be around for a little while longer. She was reminded of the many times he had secretly laughed at his remarks to Shunsui. She remembered when she took his company for granted. She leaned into him, taking in his scent. He just stood there. Almost a whole three minutes later she realized what she was doing. She looked up at him in horror. She had just leaned on a Captain! She twitched, annoyed at him.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" She said exasperated. Ukitake looked at her-dead serious.

"Maybe I didn't want to say anything." She quickly uttered an excuse and walked away, pondering what he could have meant.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks to everyone for the kind reviews. I will have the next chapter 2-5 days, 6 at most. For some reason, the story didn't transfer properly last time, sorry for all the changes. I sincerely apologize to anyone who has alerted this story and has gotten a bunch of emails because of my annoying computer. I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again. _

**Four months, five days, six hours, 13 minutes.**

Nanao walked towards the cherry tree. She could see someone lying underneath it. As she got closer, she recognized Ukitake's silver hair splayed out around him. He appeared to be sleeping. His face was totally expressionless and strangely innocent looking. She moved to wake him, then stopped. Maybe it was best to leave him to rest.

"It's now or never." He said. Nanao almost jumped a full foot backwards. A small smirk flitted across his face. His eyes were still closed. "I'm running out of time." He said. Nanao's brow knitted together. She thought she knew what he meant, but she had to be wrong. She could feel her cheeks burning at the thought. She leaned forwards, expecting him to open his eyes or push her away. He didn't. She kissed him once. She had always wondered what it would be like to kiss someone she genuinely cared for. Now she knew. She pulled away, sure that she had done wrong. At first, he seemed not to react. His eyes were still closed. Then, he smiled. She felt extremely warm, even though there was a cool breeze ruffling her hair. He sat up and opened his eyes. They seemed even more beautiful to her now. He laid a hand on her face. She was stupid. She only had four months. He began to cough again and she removed her glasses to wipe her eyes. When the coughing subsided he apologized. She shook her head, afraid she might cry.

"I forced you into this didn't I?" he said softly. She leaned into him, unafraid this time. "No." she replied. ".No." She didn't want to pull away. she didn't want to say anything, but she knew he was waiting for an explanation. He put a hand on her back, making her feel better and worse and the same time. She looked up, pulling herself together. "I'm just sad." That was all she needed to say. He gave her glasses back. Ukitake stood up, looking guilty and annoyed. "I'm terribly sorry. I shouldn't have thrust this upon you now. I was foolish." Nanao watched him go, almost calling after him but deciding against it. She needed time to come to terms with what was happening.

The next day, Ukitake was there again. He almost always was when nothing was happening in Seireitei. This time he was lying in the branches of the tree. She looked up at him. He was looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Captain-" she began then tried again. "Ukitake." He turned his head to face her. "Would come down here?" Ukitake swung down from the branch. He stood in front of her. Without warning she kissed him full on, nearly knocking him backwards. It took him a few seconds to react to this, eventually he pulled away. His eyes were wide with shock. He spoke in a bewildered tone of voice saying,  
"I see." she removed her hands from his neck.  
"You have soft hair."  
"Thank you." Ukitake laughed lightly, feeling his hair self consciously.

The rest of the month went by quickly, too quickly. They pretended that nothing was wrong. Laughing and hiding from the other shinigami. Ukitake taught Nanao how to have amazing hair using a strange mixture of raw eggs and yogurt. Nanao taught Ukitake how to pick out the best cherry blossoms and the ripest cherries hiding behind them. There was no escaping reality, though. It was obvious that Ukitake was getting worse. He was spending more time inside and coughing up more blood. Something had to change.


	4. Chapter 4

**I am so incredibly sorry for my lateness...I got sick. Of course after that I had loads of homework so please, please forgive me! Enjoy this final segment!**

Three months, six days, 12 hours, 6 minutes.

Nanao cringed slightly as Ukitake began to cough again. It was getting colder now and it was getting to him. When he finished, there was blood at the corners of his mouth and he looked paler than usual. Ukitake tried to shrug it off, but it was obvious that he was still feeling the effects of it. It reflected back in the way he was hunched over and how he walked slower and more deliberately than normal. Nanao put a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe you should lie down." She suggested kindly.

"No. I spent all yesterday in bed. Besides, we already have something planned for today." Nanao frowned worriedly. She took Ukitake's arm, supporting him subtly so as not to hurt his pride. Ukitake was leading the way. Eventually she saw the cherry tree ahead of them. He was starting to straighten up a bit now. Once they were underneath the tree he knelt down on the ground, rummaging in his uniform. He pulled out a small metal band. It was plain, it had no engravings and no diamonds. He held it out to her.

"Nanao, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know that isn't saying much given the circumstances but.." She took it, her heart beating wildly.

"It means everything." She said as she slipped it on her finger. They embraced. Neither of them enjoyed kissing after an attack, for obvious reasons. The next day they told Shunsui, who wasn't the least bit surprised. He married them under the tree. Shunsui proceeded to snicker quietly in public like any good friend would after a secret marriage and Nanao's eyes began to hurt from giving him dirty looks. She knew it couldn't last long. A week after the marriage, Ukitake had his worse attack yet, sentencing him to almost a week under Unohana's care. When Ukitake recovered enough to get out again he looked different.

"I can't let that happen again." He said. "Every moment is precious." Nanao gave him a concerned look.

"Are you sure that you are well enough to be out and about?"

"Does it really matter at this point?" She fell silent. They went to the cherry tree, their special place. Together they watched the sunset. Nanao felt his hand relax in hers. She looked over and saw he was asleep. Once the red orange disk slipped behind the lake she shook Ukitake, the cold couldn't be too good for him. He wouldn't wake. she caught her breath. She shook him again calling out.

"Ukitake! Wake up!" Slowly he opened his eyes. It took some time for his eyes to get used to the darkness. She breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes darting away from his. They began to walk back up the path. Nanao looked at the sunset, nudging him and pointing. He smiled vaguely, his mind was somewhere else. Suddenly he doubled over, clutching his stomach. Ukitake dropped to his knees, still spewing blood. Nanao knelt next to him, gripping his hand. She felt this was as much support for him as for her. He was shaking violently with each cough and it was clear by the amount of blood dribbling down his chin that this attack was serious. He squeezed her hand tightly every time he convulsed to cough up more blood. Nanao bent closer to him saying,

"I'm going to go get help." Ukitake looked frail and innocent then.

"Please," he choked "Don't leave me alone." More blood gurgled from his throat and onto the grass. She was torn. This wasn't a decision she wanted to make. she looked at him and he looked back. She knew that nothing could help him now. Tears fell from her face as she held him in her lap. He smiled at her.

"You said six months. I thought we had more time." She said, her voice cracking. More blood trickled from his mouth.

"So did I, Nanao-chan." He reached upwards and laid a hand on her face, leaving a trail of blood. She held his hand there, feeling it's warmth for the last time. Ukitake seemed to stop coughing and his hand fell away from her face. Nanao knew this was her last chance to say something.

"I love you." She said through her tears. Ukitake looked at her, words forming on his lips.

"I.." He didn't finish. His body slumped in her arms. She bent forwards, pulling him towards her and wanting him to move again.

She stumbled out to where the captains stood talking in the meeting hall. Shunsui looked at her, eyes widening in shock. Byakuya was asking her why she was covered in blood. she could hear their voices but everything was fading into the background. Shunsui raced forwards and caught her as she collapsed.


End file.
